We Need to Back Cash on Buses (at least off peak) excludes metro due to the ticket machines at all Bus Stations
Tourists Have Limited options to pay for transit, Number 1 if they use smart ticketing they have an international transaction fee and the amount of people who visit from overseas have American Express which TransLink dose not accept, also TransLink could be earning more if they let people buy a ticket on the bus because so many people fare evade and that’s really concerning because TransLink could use that money on transport infrastructure instead.
I don’t think you will find much support here for bringing cash back onto buses.
If tourists can’t use their foreign cards due to international transaction fees (which they would be subject to anywhere they use the card), they would likely be picking up a pre-paid, local currency travel card anyway, or they can purchase a Go Card.
People who fare evade will not simply stop fare evading because the buses start accepting 50c fares. Instead, they will probably start waving $50+ notes, knowing that the drivers will not have the capacity to provide $49.50 change. This was a popular trick used by foreign students back during my uni days on the GC back in the mid-late 2000s. They would board the bus with a $100 note, which drivers could not change.
Forcing bus drivers back into handling cash will likely face heavy backlash from the unions. Bus drivers are already the targets of far too many cases of verbal and physical assault, let alone making them a target of theft as well.
Cash is still accepted at the Go card ticket vending machines, where a paper tickets can be purchased.
Translink is accepting more prepaid cards even cards like the virtual Klarna Visa which you can set up in seconds and link to Google Pay.
There is no will to bring back cash on PT due to associated costs and driver safety. Supermarkets and main stream petrol station will have to accept cash though for the near future due to the new Federal Bill. Small business is exempt as well as other industries.